scholarly journals Research note: Likes, sarcasm and politics: Youth responses to a platform-initiated media literacy campaign on social media

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana Literat ◽  
Abubakr Abdelbagi ◽  
Nicola YL Law ◽  
Marcus Y-Y Cheung ◽  
Rongwei Tang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Literacy Campaign ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Large Scale Analysis ◽  
Youth Attitudes

To better understand youth attitudes towards media literacy education on social media, and the opportunities and challenges inherent in such initiatives, we conducted a large-scale analysis of user responses to a recent media literacy campaign on TikTok. We found that reactions to the cam-paign were mixed, and highly political in nature. While young people appreciated the urgency of media literacy education and understood its relevance to their social media participation, many displayed a sarcastic attitude, criticizing both the content and the dissemination of the campaign. Based on these responses, we identify key takeaways and recommendations that can valuably in-form future media literacy campaigns on social media.

scholarly journals LIKES, SARCASM AND POLITICS: YOUTH RESPONSES TO A PLATFORM-INITIATED MEDIA LITERACY CAMPAIGN ON SOCIAL MEDIA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioana Literat ◽  
Abubakr Abdelbagi ◽  
Nicola YL Law ◽  
Marcus Y-Y Cheung ◽  
Rongwei Tang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Literacy Campaign ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
News Source ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
People’S Attitudes

When it comes to youth and media literacy, the focus of both research and practice has been on the integration of media literacy instruction into young people’s various educational experiences, rather than studying, implementing and evaluating such initiatives in situ, on social media—which is known to be youths’ central news source. Furthermore, existing studies focus on older platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and we lack a nuanced understanding of these dynamics on the platforms most popular with youth today. The present study aims to fill this gap, by analyzing how users responded to a media literacy education campaign on the popular youth-oriented social media app TikTok, with a focus on the lessons that we might draw in terms of targeted media literacy education initiatives for youth. Our large-scale qualitative content analysis—which included 11,449 public comments posted on 5 educational TikTok videos about media literacy—facilitated a naturalistic study of young people’s attitudes towards such initiatives. We found that reactions to the campaign were mixed, and highly political in nature. While many users appreciated the media literacy campaign and TikTok’s role in implementing it, there was also resistance to the campaign, due to factors related to video content, dissemination approach, and the very identity of TikTok as a platform. Across the board, comments were highly political, illustrating the politicized nature of media literacy education today. These reactions serve as rich feedback that can usefully inform future media literacy campaigns on social media, and especially those targeting youth audiences.

scholarly journals Advancing children’s news media literacy: learning from the practices and experiences of young Australians

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-707
Author(s):  
Tanya Notley ◽  
Michael Dezuanni
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Literacy Learning ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Fake News ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Nationally Representative

Social media use has redefined the production, experience and consumption of news media. These changes have made verifying and trusting news content more complicated and this has led to a number of recent flashpoints for claims and counter-claims of ‘fake news’ at critical moments during elections, natural disasters and acts of terrorism. Concerns regarding the actual and potential social impact of fake news led us to carry out the first nationally representative survey of young Australians’ news practices and experiences. Our analysis finds that while social media is one of young people’s preferred sources of news, they are not confident about spotting fake news online and many rarely or never check the source of news stories. Our findings raise important questions regarding the need for news media literacy education – both in schools and in the home. Therefore, we consider the historical development of news media literacy education and critique the relevance of dominant frameworks and pedagogies currently in use. We find that news media has become neglected in media literacy education in Australia over the past three decades, and we propose that current media literacy frameworks and pedagogies in use need to be rethought for the digital age.

scholarly journals The importance of media literacy education: How Lithuanian students evaluate online news content credibility

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-248
Author(s):  
Andrius Šuminas ◽  
Deimantas Jastramskis
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Online News ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Tracking Device ◽  
Basic Course

Nowadays, when the flow of fake news in traditional media and on social media plat-forms has increased dramatically, media and information literacy (MIL) skills are more important than ever. MIL promotes the critical thinking skills that enable people to make independent choices, in particular how to evaluate and choose different information sources and channels, as well as how to interpret the news and information received through those channels. This article explores how young people in Lithuania evaluate the trustworthiness of news. Two groups of students were selected for the experiment: young people who had participated in a basic course in MIL, and young people whose learning was minimally related to MIL. The study was conducted using a survey and eye-tracking device that enabled researchers to record and analyse readers’ real behaviour and to identify the dis-tribution of attention, i.e. the concentration of sight and time spent on particular news elements. The research results show a clear difference between these two groups and thus confirm the importance of media literacy education.

Have You Heard? Newsworthy items from the field

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 70-70
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
College Admissions ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Recent Survey ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Admissions Officers

In a recent survey, 36% of college admissions officers said they viewed applicants’ social media profiles. As of the end of 2019, 14 U.S. states have begun requiring some form of media literacy education.

scholarly journals MEDIA, ETHICAL NORMS AND MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION

2021 ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Samir Ljajić
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Media Literacy Education ◽  
Ethical Norms

Media reporting requires ethical prudence. Journalistic ethics must set norms, guidelines, rules, and codes that will provide for truthfulness and accuracy; impartiality and honesty; respect for personality and privacy; independence from individual interests; accountability to society and social goods; respect for the law; moral, competence and good taste.. New media offer quick contact, promotion, exchange of thought, and freedom of expression. New technologies, such as the Internet, do not change the necessity of posing basic ethical issues of privacy violations, intellectual property or identity theft, dissemination of fake information, but only give them a greater dimension. The current body of research provides ample evidence of the growing need for media literacy instruction in all schooling levels in order to educate and protect the young from unethical social media contents. Therefore, this paper will deal with the problem of media, ethical norms and media literacy education comprising teaching moral reasoning and critical thinking skills. Media literacy must be incorporated in all schooling levels, from the lowest and progressing towards the highest. Even the youngest ones nowadays know how to stream, how to twitch and use social media but they are not fully aware of possible negative effects. Media and the Internet especially should be seen as an instrument of change and progress but they can be manipulative as well. However, the role of the responsible society is to educate the young how to use media to their advantage and successfully differentiate ethical from the unethical in the media of the contemporary networking world. 

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